The Yorkton Regional High School Sr. Boys Basketball team may not have received the SHSAA Provincial Championship banner they hoped for after making Hoopla, but the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association did make their way to Yorkton to give them a sportsmanship banner for their exemplary sportsmanship in taking back to back bronze medals in 4A basketball.
Jason Payne, the Raiders head coach instills the value of sportsmanship into his teams, teaching that how you act on the court is reflective of how you act off of it. "I often think of the basketball court as an extension of the classroom and when you get recognized for the great group of kids we have and the things we teach in the program it is an added bonus" says Payne.
Payne also added that the award was a nice bonus for the team who also came home from their 2012/13 season with another bronze medal at 4A Hoopla saying, "Obviously we wish we could have put up a provincial championship banner in the gym, but being recognized by the SHSAA as well as taking home a bronze medal was a good way to cap off a great year with a great group of kids that were a pleasure to coach and the SHSAA recognizing that was nice."
The Raiders, who have the most provincial championship banners of any school in the province as well as in the last ten years have also taken home three Milk Sportsmanship Awards in the decade. Girls soccer were given the award as well as the Sr. Raiders football team in recent years and Payne, who also serves as the athletic director of the program feels is indicative of the work of the athletic department in both teaching the sport and the importance of life after sports. "With the amount of banners and championships we have won in recent years along with the three sportsmanship awards we have won as a school I feel that the hard work of our coaches as well as our students shows in the accolades and banners we have been able to hang in our gym" says Payne.
The Raider basketball team is still in their offseason with Payne going to coaching clinics honing his coaching craft (see page 16) in preparation for the 2013/14 season that will see the orange and white lose their two leading scorers. For now a great group of YRHS students can hold their heads high knowing that both on the court they were one of the top teams in the province while showing humility and sportsmanship on the hardwood which at the end of the day is valuable.
